Banknote-handling system

ABSTRACT

A banknote-handling system includes a plurality of banknote-handling machines ( 11, 12 , . . . ); a plurality of banks ( 16, 17 ) for accounting purposes, etc; a co-ordinating central unit ( 10 ); a transport system ( 18, 19  . . . ) for transporting banknotes between the machines and the banks; a central bank ( 15 ) for monitoring the activity and banknote-handling of respective banks; and an electronic information and signal transmission system ( 1 - 2 ) for enabling individual and co-operative activities of the units to be achieved. The information and signal transmission system ( 1 - 2 ) is divided into two subsystems. One subsystem ( 1 ) includes the transmission of information and signals that relate to and have their basis in transactions between the banks ( 16, 17 ) and the general public/businesses relating to their activities in respect of banknote-handling. The other subsystem ( 2 ) includes the purely administrative and technical signal transmission required for the requisite co-operation between the various units included in the system, for instance co-ordinating central unit-vehicles, banknote-handling machines-banks, within the banknote-handling system.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a banknote-handling system including anumber of bank note-handling machines, a number of banks, aco-ordination centre, a transport system, a central bank, and anelectronic information and signal transfer system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, the system is designed to divide theelectronic information and signal system into two mutually separatesubsystems. One subsystem includes information and signal transfer thatrelates to and has its basis in transactions, i.e., transaction handlingcomponents. The transaction handling components can include, forinstance banknote-handling between the banks on the one hand and thegeneral public and businessmen on the other hand, with respect to theiractivities in the banknote-handling system. The second subsystemincludes purely administrative and technical signal transfer necessaryfor the requisite co-operation between the various units, i.e.,administrative handling components. The administrative handlingcomponents handle, for instance, cooperation between the coordinationcentre and vehicles, and cooperation between the banknote-handlingmachines and the banks, within the banknote-handling system.

Other characteristic features of an inventive banknote-handling systemwill be apparent as set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the electronic information andsignal transmission system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overview of the units included in the system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Shown in FIG. 1 are two (11 and 12) of a plurality (n in number) of TCC2000-type banknote-handling machines. Each machine has the respectivenotations: Deposit/Withdrawal 31; Quality Sorting 32, One-time Cassette33, Safety Box 34, Machine Statistics 35, Error Reports 36, ErroneousHandling 37, Suspected Forgeries 38, Banknote Storage Info 39. Thesenotations are sufficiently self-explanatory to enable the invention tobe fully understood with respect to principle, without requiring furtherexplanation.

Referring to FIG. 1, requisite information and signal transmission fromcomponents of the banknote-handling machine including deposit/withdrawal31, quality sorting 32, and one-time cassette 33 relate to, and havetheir basis in, transactions, for example banknote-handling between thebanks on the one hand and the general public and businesses on the otherhand, with respect to their activities in the banknote-handling system.

The purely administrative and technical signal transmission requiredfrom the remaining six parts 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 of FIG. 1 relates tothe co-operation between the various units, for instance, cooperationbetween the coordination centre and cars, and cooperation between thebanknote-handling machines and the banks and between the central bankand banks within the banknote-handling system.

Purely transaction data generally requires fast connections. Forinstance, when a person identifies himself/herself with his/her cashcard, credit card or the like, it is necessary for the bank concerned toquickly validate the identity of said person, which requires a fast orhigh speed data connection. This information flow subsystem 1 isdesignated “transaction data” in FIG. 1.

Purely administrative and technical signal transmission, such as machinestatistics and error reports, for instance, does not, of course, requirethe same speed and can therefore be effected by slower transmissions,e.g. call connections/GSM. This information flow subsystem 2 (the secondsubsystem) is designated “logistic and technical data” in FIG. 1.

In practice, it has been found appropriate to divide the secondsubsystem, in turn, into two separate subsystems, of which a technicalthird subsystem 21 includes technical signal transmission for necessarytechnical service to units included in the bank handling system, e.g.service vehicles, and an administrative fourth subsystem 22 thatincludes administrative signal transmission for necessary/desirableinformation concerning the current flow of banknotes in thebanknote-handling system, e.g. optimisation of the banknote flows,control of banknote qualities, and so on, on behalf of the central bank,e.g. Bank of Sweden and the police authorities. As discussed furtherhereinafter, each of these subsystems have separate communicationsconnections.

The units which may be included in the inventive system will now bedescribed briefly with reference to FIG. 2.

A number of bank handling machines or telling machines 11, 12, 13, 14, .. . 1 n are disposed over a limited geographical area, for depositingand dispensing banknotes. The machines are designed for bundling andpackaging in cassettes surplus banknotes of accepted quality on the onehand, banknotes of unacceptable quality on the other hand, and possibleforged banknotes on the third hand.

The machines communicate with a common information centre 10 whichreceives infor-mation from and sends information and control signals tosaid machines, this information including factual information concerningthe existence of stored banknotes and cassette-packaged banknotes, andalso relating to detected banknotes of unacceptable quality and alsobanknotes that are suspected of being fraudulent.

The system also includes a plurality of transporters 18, 19, 20 fortransporting cassette-packaged banknotes to and from the machines 11 . .. 1 n in response to an order from the information centre 10, dependingon the information fed to the machines from the centre.

Indicated in the figure are two banks 16, 17 which may be the owners ofmachines and have responsibility for said machines in each respectiveregion of the geographically limited area. The main responsibility inthe community for banknote-handling lies with the central bank 15 (Bankof Sweden). The broken lines indicate communications connections betweenthe various units (the banknote-handling machines/the central unit, thetrans-porters/the central unit, the banks/the central unit, thebanks/the central bank).

Because each machine, each transporter, each security bank used inconjunction with transporters for the transportation ofcassettes/banlmotes between the various units, and each person activewithin the system, can be given an individual identity (code), thecentral unit has control/knowledge of where banknotes/cassettes arelocated and their destination at each moment in time. This provides avery high degree of security to the novel, simpli-fied and cost-reducingmodern banknote-handling system.

Shown in FIG. 2 are units which may be included in the inventive systemwhich include service vehicles 41; National Bank police authorities 42;GSM/other radio connection 28; called connection 29; technical servicebanknote transporter 21; optimisation of banknote flows, checkingbanknote qualities 22; fixed data connection 27; and called connection(GSM) 26.

The invention being thus described, it will be apparent that the samemay be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be recognized by one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A banknote-handling system comprising a) a plurality ofbanknote-handling machines for depositing and/or dispensing valuabledocuments through transactions, each of said banknote handling machineshaving transaction handling components and separate administrativehandling components; b) a plurality of banks for accounting of thetransactions performed using said banknote-handling machines; c) acoordinating central unit configured to communicate with said banknotehandling machines for receiving information relating to the banknotecontent of the machines and to the need for banknotes reported by thegeneral public and businesses or made apparent in some other way, andfor sending command signals on the basis of said information andintended for the activation of units within the system; d) a transportsystem including a plurality of service vehicles for physicallyeffecting the requisite transportation of banknotes between thebanknote-handling machines and the banks in response to the need at thattime; e) a central bank for monitoring the activities of said banks ingeneral and the actual handling of banknotes; and f) an electronicinformation system for enabling the individual and mutual activities totake place in said units, said electronic information system beingdivided into two mutually separate subsystems through which saidbanknote handling machines communicate with said coordinating centralunit including, a first subsystem directly connected to said transactionhandling components of said banknote-handling machines by a high speedconnection and configured to transmit information and signals relatingto, and having their basis in transactions, such as banknote-handling,between the banks on one hand and the general public and businesses onthe other hand, with respect to their activities within thebanknote-handling system; and a second subsystem directly connected tosaid administrative handling components of said banknote-handlingmachines by a second connection separate from said high speedconnection, each of said banknote-handling machines thereby having twodifferent connections each configured for separate transmission ofinformation and signal transfers having their basis in transactions andreferred to as transaction data, and administrative and technical signaltransfers referred to as logistic and technical data, respectively, ofsaid each banknote-handling machine with said coordinating central unit,said second subsystem being configured to transmit purely administrativeand technical signal transmission required in respect of the requisiteco-operation between the various units, including coordinating centralunit, vehicles and banknote-handling machines, and banks within thebanknote-handling system.
 2. The banknote-handling system according toclaim 1, wherein said second subsystem is, in turn, divided into twoseparate subsystems, including a technical, third system that includesthe technical signal transmission or technical service required inrespect of units included in the banknote-handling system; anadministrative, fourth subsystem which includes administrative signaltransmission in respect of the information that is required/desirablewith regard to the current flow of banknotes in the banknote-handlingsystem; said third subsystem being connected to said service vehicles bya third connection and said fourth subsystem being connected to acentral bank by a fourth connection, said third and fourth connectionsbeing separate from one another.
 3. The banknote-handling systemaccording to claim 2, wherein said third connection is a GSM or otherradio connection.
 4. The banknote-handling system according to claim 2,wherein said fourth connection is a called connection.
 5. Thebanknote-handling system according to claim 2, wherein said thirdsubsystem is directly connected to said service vehicles by said thirdconnection.
 6. The banknote-handling system according to claim 2,wherein said fourth subsystem is directly connected to the central bankby said fourth connection.
 7. The banknote-handling system according toclaim 1, wherein said high speed connection is a fixed data connection.8. The banknote-handling system according to claim 1, wherein saidsecond connection is a call connection, GSM or other radio connection.9. The banknote-handling system according to claim 1, wherein said highspeed connection is a fixed data connection and said second connectionis a call connection, GSM or other radio connection, said secondconnection being slower in communication speed than said high speedconnection.
 10. The banknote-handling system according to claim 1,wherein said transaction handling components include at least adeposit/withdrawal component, a quality sorting component and a one-timecassette component, each of these components being a separate componentrelative to the others.
 11. The banknote-handling system according toclaim 1, wherein said administrative handling components include atleast a safety box component, a machine statistics component, an errorreports component, an erroneous handling component, a suspectedforgeries component and a banknote storage component, each of thesecomponents being a separate component relative to the others.
 12. Abanknote-handling system comprising: a) a plurality of banknote-handlingmachines for depositing and/or dispensing valuable documents throughtransactions, each of said banknote handling machines having transactionhandling components and separate administrative handling components; b)a plurality of banks for accounting of the transactions performed usingsaid banknote-handling machines; c) a coordinating central unitconfigured to communicate with said banknote handling machines forreceiving information relating to the banknote content of the machinesand to the need for banknotes reported by the general public andbusinesses or made apparent in some other way, and for sending commandsignals on the basis of said information and intended for the activationof units within the system; d) a transport system for effecting therequisite transportation of banknotes between the banknote-handlingmachines and the banks in response to the need at that time; e) acentral bank for monitoring the activities of said banks in general andthe actual handling of banknotes; and f) an electronic informationsystem for enabling the individual and mutual activities to take placein said units, said electronic information system being divided into twomutually separate subsystems through which said banknote handlingmachines communicate with said coordinating central unit including, afirst subsystem directly connected to said transaction handlingcomponents of said banknote-handling machines by a high speed connectionand configured to transmit information and signals relating to, andhaving their basis in transactions, such as banknote-handling, betweenthe banks on one hand and the general public and businesses on the otherhand, with respect to their activities within the banknote-handlingsystem; and a second subsystem directly connected to said administrativehandling components of said banknote-handling machines by a secondconnection separate from said high speed connection, each of saidbanknote-handling machines thereby having two different connections eachconfigured for separate transmission of information and signal transfershaving their basis in transactions and referred to as transaction dataand administrative and technical signal transfer referred to as logisticand technical data, respectively, of said each banknote-handling machinewith said coordinating central unit, said second subsystem beingconfigured to transmit purely administrative and technical signaltransmission required in respect of the requisite co-operation betweenthe various units, including coordinating central unit, vehicles andbanknote-handling machines, and banks within the banknote-handlingsystem, said second subsystem being divided into two separate subsystemsthat include, a technical, third system that includes the technicalsignal transmission or technical service required in respect of unitsincluded in the banknote-handling system; and an administrative, fourthsubsystem which includes administrative signal transmission in respectof the information that is required/desirable with regard to the currentflow of banknotes in the banknote-handling system; said third subsystembeing directly connected to at least one transport system servicevehicle by a third connection and said fourth subsystem being directlyconnected to a central bank by a fourth connection, said third andfourth connections being separate from one another.
 13. Thebanknote-handling system according to claim 12, wherein said high speedconnection is a fixed data connection and said second connection is acall connection, GSM or other radio connection, said second connectionbeing slower in communication speed than said high speed connection. 14.The banknote-handling system according to claim 13, wherein said thirdconnection is a GSM or other radio connection.
 15. The banknote-handlingsystem according to claim 14, wherein said fourth connection is a calledconnection.
 16. A banknote-handling system comprising: a) a plurality ofbanknote-handling machines for depositing and/or dispensing valuabledocuments through transactions, each of said banknote handling machineshaving transaction handling components and separate administrativehandling components, said transaction handling components including atleast a deposit/withdrawal component, a quality sorting component and aone-time cassette component, and said administrative handling componentsincluding at least a safety box component, a machine statisticscomponent, an error reports component, an erroneous handling component,a suspected forgeries component and a banknote storage component, eachof said components being a separate component relative to the others; b)a plurality of banks for accounting of the transactions performed usingsaid banknote-handling machines; c) a coordinating central unitconfigured to communicate with said banknote handling machines forreceiving information relating to the banknote content of the machinesand to the need for banknotes reported by the general public andbusinesses or made apparent in some other way, and for sending commandsignals on the basis of said information and intended for the activationof units within the system; d) a transport system including at least oneservice vehicle for effecting the requisite transportation of banknotesbetween the banknote-handling machines and the banks in response to theneed at that time; e) a central bank for monitoring the activities ofsaid banks in general and the actual handling of banknotes; and f) anelectronic information system for enabling the individual and mutualactivities to take place in said units, said electronic informationsystem being divided into two mutually separate subsystems through whichsaid banknote handling machines communicate with said coordinatingcentral unit including, a first subsystem directly connected to saidtransaction handling components of said banknote-handling machines by ahigh speed connection and configured to transmit information and signalsrelating to, and having their basis in transactions, such asbanknote-handling, between the banks on one hand and the general publicand businesses on the other hand, with respect to their activitieswithin the banknote-handling system; and a second subsystem directlyconnected to said administrative handling components of saidbanknote-handling machines by a second connection separate from saidhigh speed connection, each of said banknote-handling machines therebyhaving two different connections each configured for separatetransmission of information and signal transfers having their basis intransactions and referred to as transaction data and administrative andtechnical signal transfer referred to as logistic and technical data,respectively, of said each banknote-handling machine with saidcoordinating central unit, said second subsystem being configured totransmit purely administrative and technical signal transmissionrequired in respect of the requisite co-operation between the variousunits, including coordinating central unit, vehicles andbanknote-handling machines, and banks within the banknote-handlingsystem.
 17. The banknote-handling system according to claim 16, whereinsaid second subsystem is, in turn, divided into two separate subsystems,including a technical, third system that includes the technical signaltransmission or technical service required in respect of units includedin the banknote-handling system; an administrative, fourth subsystemwhich includes administrative signal transmission in respect of theinformation that is required/desirable with regard to the current flowof banknotes in the banknote-handling system; said third subsystem beingconnected to said at least one service vehicle by a third connection andsaid fourth subsystem being connected to a central bank by a fourthconnection, said third and fourth connections being separate from oneanother.